Prince Guillaume marries Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in Luxembourg

The 500,000 euro wedding: Belgian countess shimmers in breathtaking lace dress as she marries heir to the Luxembourg throne in lavish ceremony

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UPDATED:

20:42 GMT, 21 October 2012

One of the biggest days in Luxembourg's not hugely-illustrious history has finally arrived.

Earlier today the wedding of Prince Guillaume, the heir to the throne – the grand duke-to-be – and Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy took place at the Cathedral of our Lady of Luxembourg.

A huge guest list of foreign royal families and dignitaries filled the church to watch the ceremony in the tiny (but very wealthy) country.

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Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg and Crown Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg exchanging their vows

The ceremony took place at the Cathedral of our Lady of Luxembourg

Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg walks down the aisle with her brother Count Jehan de Lannoy

Accompanied by her father, Count Phillipe de Lannoy, the 28-year-old bride, wore an Elie Saab dress, with a four-metre (13 feet) train as walked down the aisle.

The dress featured three-quarter length sleeves and a silk tulle veil, and was also adorned with a silver floral motif.

The ceremony, which was conducted in a mixture of French and English, and featured a minute's silence for Stephanie's late mother Countess Alix de Lannoy, who died in August this year.

The two-day wedding celebrations cost an estimated 500,000 euros (paid by the Luxembourg taxpayer), and included free concerts, street shows and a giant fireworks display.

The guest list for the religious ceremony included kings, queens, princes and princesses from European countries including, among others, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Lichtenstein, Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania and Britain, which sent Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth's youngest child, and his wife, Sophie.

Happy together: The couple started dating in 2009 after being reunited at a party and got engaged in 2011

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg is the last hereditary prince in Europe to get married

The wedding was Luxembourg's answer to the British Royal Wedding last year of Prince William and Kate Middleton

Luxembourg is a linguistically complicated country, a reflection of its complicated past. It began as a Roman fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the control of Spain, France and Austria.

In 1839, it gained its independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half its territory to Belgium, which now has a province of the same name.

In the 20th century, Germany swept through Luxembourg twice despite its protestations of neutrality.

Luxembourg, an important financial centre and home to the world's largest steel manufacturer, continues to prosper despite Europe's economic trouble.

The country has the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than 50,000 ($80,000) – though its population of about 510,000 people lost the Number one spot to Qatar. The capital city has 80,000 inhabitants and 120,000 jobs.

For that reason, more than 43 per cent of the people in Luxembourg are foreign nationals, compared to a European Union average of 6.4 per cent.

Stephanie de Lannoy and her brother Count Jehan de Lannoy greet Most Reverend Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg as they arrive

A close-up view of Stephanie's hair and veil

Stephanie's dress was designed by Elie Saab and featured a 4-metre (13 feet) train

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex were present to represent the British royal family. Sophie wore a bespoke hat by millinar Jane Taylor featuring black pheasant feathers

VIP guestlist (from left to right): Princess Marie Chantal of Greece, Prince Pavlos of Greece, King Constantine of Greece and Queen Anne Marie of Greece attend the Gala dinner for the wedding of Prince Guillaume Of Luxembourg and Stephanie de Lannoy

L-R: Princess Caroline of Monaco and Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco arrive at the Cathedral

The celebrations for the wedding lasted two days and costs half a million Euro

Making an entrance: A crowd of photographers, military officers an well-wishers watch as the bride, accompanied by her bridesmaids and maids of honour, make their way into the cathedral

Crown Prince Guillaume is 30-years-old, with his bride, who is two years younger at 28